From: John Adair on
A BGA S3E to DIL is on the list.

John Adair
Enterpoint Ltd. - Home of Broaddown2. The Ultimate Spartan3 Development
Board.
http://www.enterpoint.co.uk

<aiiadict(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1142275608.445179.253990(a)z34g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> how about a BGA to DIP converter socket?
>
> or, a BGA part pre-soldered to a board with
> through-holes for attaching connectors, wires,
> etc?
>
> spartan3 + power supply + SRAM on a stamp-sized
> board with breadboard type connectors on it? I know
> breadboard spartan3 dev boards are available, but
> it would be cool to get something tiny, cheap, and easily
> connected to. minus the switches, LEDs, 7segment
> LEDs, etc.
>


From: Andy Peters on
Paul van der Linden wrote:
> Eli Hughes wrote:
> > The QFP devices (VQ100, TQ144 and PQ208) are do-able with some practice
> > with a standard soldering iron and some wick.
> How thin should the soldering iron be?

Look at the range of Metcal tips. A drag-hoof tip works best for QFPs
and TQFPs.

> > Your best best is to get a development board to experiment. If you need
> > a standard alone module check out the Avnet Virtex 4 Mini module or the
> > devices from Xess.
> The problem with the standard development board, is that they are
> expensive (starting from 150 dollar or something). But I think I will
> buy one.

A decent (read: Metcal) soldering tool and proper tips will run double
the $150.

> And I was also thinking of the feature, I want to be able to make my own
> devices, and using start kits for a final devices isn't right.

Then you'll definitely need to invest in the proper tools now.

-a

From: Jake Janovetz on
Paul-

We (www.opalkelly.com) routinely solder the QFPs by hand. Your best bet
is to get a solder paste syringe from DigiKey and a hot air pencil. You
can also use an iron, but the paste melts really well under hot air.
Apply a very thin line (just enough to avoid separating the line as you
draw it) just inside the outer edge of the pads, then plop the part
down. Using an iron, solder a couple corners to make sure the part
doesn't move. Then use hot air.

We do not do BGA by hand -- too costly. Although most contract
manufacturers consider BGA more reliable and easier to do than QFP
because they self-center better. Of course, with the new RoHS stuff,
many will need to do costly temp profiling until they nail the processes.

Of course, you could also buy smallish integration modules like what we
sell. They're more expensive than just a raw chip, but will save you a
lot of time. Ours also include a software API and USB connectivity
which is more than just the "chip on a board" eval boards have.

Cheers,
Jake



Paul van der Linden wrote:
> Hi,
> I'm very new to fpga, just came interrested in these things.
> The only problem I think I will have is the soldering.
> How to solder fpga's on the boards? I'm a student so I don't have money
> for very expensive machines.
> I want to be able to solder the whole range of packages of Xilinx
> spartan 3e, will that be possible with not to expensive tools?
>
> Package types:
> Table 121: Xilinx Package Mechanical Drawings
> Package Web Link (URL)
> VQ100 / VQG100: http://www.xilinx.com/bvdocs/packages/vq100.pdf
> CP132 / CPG132: http://www.xilinx.com/bvdocs/packages/cp132.pdf
> TQ144 / TQG144: http://www.xilinx.com/bvdocs/packages/tq144.pdf
> PQ208 / PQG208: http://www.xilinx.com/bvdocs/packages/pq208.pdf
> FT256 / FTG256: http://www.xilinx.com/bvdocs/packages/ft256.pdf
> FG320 / FGG320: http://www.xilinx.com/bvdocs/packages/fg320.pdf
> FG400 / FGG400: http://www.xilinx.com/bvdocs/packages/fg400.pdf
> FG484 / FGG484: http://www.xilinx.com/bvdocs/packages/fg484.pdf
From: Jake Janovetz on
Andy Peters wrote:
> Paul van der Linden wrote:
>> Eli Hughes wrote:
>>> The QFP devices (VQ100, TQ144 and PQ208) are do-able with some practice
>>> with a standard soldering iron and some wick.
>> How thin should the soldering iron be?
>
> Look at the range of Metcal tips. A drag-hoof tip works best for QFPs
> and TQFPs.

We have the Metcal irons and a drag-hoof tip. Although I've only had
success with paste and the hoof tip, I've seen techs that are able to
wet the tip and drag it on the pins nicely. Definitely something I
don't have the hands for.

But the hot air pencils are pricey -- around $200-$400 on eBay for a
Hakko 851.

Jake
From: Jake Janovetz on
aiiadict(a)gmail.com wrote:
> how about a BGA to DIP converter socket?
>
> or, a BGA part pre-soldered to a board with
> through-holes for attaching connectors, wires,
> etc?
>
> spartan3 + power supply + SRAM on a stamp-sized
> board with breadboard type connectors on it? I know
> breadboard spartan3 dev boards are available, but
> it would be cool to get something tiny, cheap, and easily
> connected to. minus the switches, LEDs, 7segment
> LEDs, etc.
>

Our XEM3010 product is similar to that, though using 0.8mm connectors to
another board. We sell the BRK3010 as a breakout board to bring the
pins out to lower-density breadboard sort of thing.

Jake